Questions for U.S. Rep. Brian Babin

I didn't vote for him. But I'm one of his constituents.

U.S. Representative Brian Babin has made it clear he has no intention of holding a town hall.

U.S. Representative Brian Babin has made it clear he has no...

The meaning of the word "constituent" derives from the Latin "constituentem," a body or group that appoints or elects a representative.

As an adjective, "constituent" means being part of a whole; without this part, the structure would be, at best, weakened; at worst, crippled. For example, molars are a constituent part to our tooth structure. Their function is to mash the food we eat, finishing the job begun by the incisors (which cut) and canines (which shred). Were I to lose my back molars, others would not see, at least at first, their absence. Moreover, though it would be difficult, I guess I could call upon my other teeth to do double duty.

But, as my family — and my gut — would soon notice, without those molars something important is nevertheless missing.

Spurring my thoughts about the constitution of the word "constituent" was an email I received last week. Addressed to his constituents, U.S. Congressional Representative Brian Babin had sent it. For a couple of reasons, I appreciated the gesture. First, I was touched because I was among the 15 percent or so who did not vote for Mr. Babin in 2016. (A pointless gesture, perhaps: Following the 2012 redrawing of the state electoral map, my district moved from "safely Republican" to one where Republicans win by margins that would be the envy of Kim Jong-Un.)

Second, the contents of the email underscore the complex character of the word "constituent." Mr. Babin reported on his many meetings with his constituents. For example, he announced that he had joined "nearly 100 local veterans at Pappa Yolk's Grill in Pasadena," where he had "a great discussion on a range of issues from veteran's [sic] medical care to border and national security." As one of Mr. Babin's constituents, though I was disappointed not to have been part of the great discussion, I understood: I was not a veteran, after all. (For the same reason, a back molar should not expect to be invited to a pulling held exclusively for the incisors.)

For this same reason, I understand why I was not invited to the meeting Mr. Babin held with representatives of our local petrochemical factories. Mr. Babin did not say whom these representatives represented. But whether they represented management or corporate interests — who knows, maybe even workers — they and Mr. Babin had a "productive" discussion. Mr. Babin recalled the "tens of thousands of workers in high-paying jobs," vowing that "the actions we are taking ... to repeal job-killing regulations and create an environment [not the one we live in and breathe from, mind you] that helps businesses grow."

Neither a veteran nor a petrochemical representative, I struck out twice to meet with my representative. But I never saw the third pitch. It seems yet another meeting held by Mr. Babin was right down the street — OK, pretty far down the street — from where I live. "I had a great discussion about the economy and national security," he revealed, with "constituents at Ken's Restaurant in Deer Park." As I trudged to the dugout, I realized I had missed yet another great discussion.

The series of meetings I missed goes to the heart of being a constituent. Though I did not vote for Mr. Babin, I am one of his constituents. Though I disagree with nearly all of the positions he has taken since taking office, I form part of the whole that constitutes Congressional District 36. And yet Mr. Babin has made it clear that he has no intention of holding a town hall. (In our one exchange of emails, he claimed I was a member of Indivisible, the organization behind some of the more raucous town hall meetings last month. That is fake news, Mr. Babin. Sad.)

Were he to hold a town hall, though, the back molars of his district would have the chance to ask him questions — questions that, perhaps, were not asked during his many great meetings with other constituents. For example, are clean air and water regulations among those he seeks to kill in Congress? If so, what does he expect to happen to the quality of the air my children breathe and water they drink and bathe in?

Does he know that, 15 years ago, the state of Texas announced that those living in the western part of his district have a greater chance of contracting cancer because of the toxins pumped out by our petrochemical plants?

Is he aware that air quality in Deer Park ranks 50 out of 100, while water quality hovers at 37 out of 100? Is he aware that the scores in nearby Pasadena are nearly identical? (The water and air quality in Woodville, it turns out, is markedly better.)

Photo: David J. Phillip, STF

Some of the oil refineries in Deer Park, where the air quality ranks 50 out of 100.

Some of the oil refineries in Deer Park, where the air quality...

Or, again, the back molars would be able to ask their representative for a more detailed account of his understanding of "national security." How, for instance, does President Trump's revised travel ban, not to mention the original ban, reinforce our security? The several thousand Muslims who are also his constituents take a keen interest in this question. What are the grounds for a ban directed at Muslim countries that have not, since the mid-1970s, produced a single terrorist who reached our shores?

As for Mr. Babin's Hispanic constituents, they might ask how a wall built along our southern border — whose financing will come from monies stripped from the budgets of the Coast Guard and FEMA — enhances our national security?

They would point out that claims about illegal immigrants pouring into our country are contradicted by studies showing that more illegal Mexicans are now leaving rather than entering the United States. Hispanic constituents might also wonder how separating Central American children from their mothers at the border, as the Department of Homeland Security now proposes, will have any impact other than on the emotional well-being of these families.

In Texas politics, Mr. Babin, gerrymandering is another word for electoral destiny. This allows you to confuse your base for your constituents and to forget that the larger parts of your district do not constitute the entirety of your district.

I understand why you feel no pressing need to meet with the back molars. But as any dentist worth her salt would warn, if we ignore those molars for too long, our digestion — perhaps just another word for democracy — will suffer.

Translator

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Robert Zaretsky teaches at the University of Houston and is the author, most recently, of Boswell's Enlightenment. He's currently writing The Empress and the Philosophe: Catherine the Great, Denis Diderot and the Eclipse of the Enlightenment.

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